Public health experts warned that U.S. cuts to global health funding are hampering the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the Bundibugyo strain has infected more than 800 people. WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on May 17.
The Trump administration has reduced support for international health programs including those operated through the U.S. Agency for International Development. Former CDC officials said withdrawn personnel and funding gaps have slowed surveillance, laboratory capacity and vaccine deployment in affected regions of Ituri Province.
Unlike other Ebola species, Bundibugyo has no licensed vaccine or approved specific treatments. Scientists are preparing a clinical trial of two experimental therapies. Case fatality rates in past Bundibugyo outbreaks have ranged from 30 to 50 percent. Two imported cases were confirmed in Kampala, Uganda, raising cross-border spread concerns.
Experts described the outbreak as politically driven in part because armed conflict in eastern Congo complicates access for health workers. WHO said the epidemic spread for weeks before detection, compromising early containment. A former CDC director warned the outbreak could become a very significant pandemic if international support does not increase.
WHO and Africa CDC convened emergency meetings to fast-track candidate vaccines against the Bundibugyo strain. Britain-funded experimental vaccines developed at Oxford University were being prioritized for shipment to affected countries. Public health workers in Ituri Province operate in an active conflict zone that limits access to remote communities.
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Sources:
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/5/22/ebola_outbreak